To say that she was ready for those twins to come was an understatement. She had gotten huge, really huge. Angela told her it was normal with twins but Keira just stared at her down. Even if she wanted to run with the moon, there was just no way. Her mind was so fogged and so miserable the last month of her pregnancy as she just hid out in the library, her body even began to ache.

She didn’t hate them, she was just upset at her own limitations. She was a woman use to doing everything on her own and now Torn even had to help her lace and button her own damn dresses because she had gotten so big. Not to mention the size of her dresses.

So it was towards the very end of Ignius when they were laying down  in bed. She snuggled into him and did the only thing that made her comfortable, hold his hand and listen to his stories. They were both nervous and staff at the house was nervous as well. She had been having false contractions on and off for a week and finally just stopped rushing to Angela’s or having Angela come to her. Even though that’s what her aunt wanted, it was hard for her to be so unsure about something.

What she wasn’t unsure about was when she groaned, rolled in bed, and felt something a little off. She pulled the blanket back a bit and spotted her nightgown and everything out rather soaked. “Torn.” It came as a little muffled whine at first before she stared to panic. “TORN. My water broke.” Let the fun begin.

Two new parents and the panic had only just set in. “GET ANGELA.” Of course when Angela did get there she told Keira she was no where near ready for delivery but, Angela did have her own set of concerns for waiting too long. So it came down to Torn as the two woman stared at him.

"I can either proceed to work my magic and make her ready now… or you could wait and I MEAN wait. It  could take days for them to come. She would be miserable. I seen someone take three days to even be ready."

The last trimester had proven very challenging for Keira, and Torn had tried to support her as best he could - but for the first time in a long time, the young adventurer had experienced a lot of uncertainty during those months, for there was no real hand-on way for him to relieve Keira of her burden in any way. He did his best, helping her out with daily tasks and entertaining her to get her mind off the strain, but Torn was still obligated to help the Dragon knights from time to time, and after he became muse-touched, he had an itch, or maybe even an addiction, to perform. And so, when one night he was lying in bed, telling his tale of meeting a community of goblin chemists (and their attempts to give him roofies for giggles), Torn was both quite at a loss and very relieved that the day of birth finally came.

As Keira grabbed Torn’s arm with panicked violence, he jolted up to see that Keira’s water had indeed broken. Get Angela. Yes, that was probably a fine idea. Torn threw on a set of robes he had gotten for a convenient nightly dress, and sprinted downstairs, almost knocking over a maid or two in the process, before remembering that Toya had demolished Angela’s shrine two nights prior in a drunken rage. He immediately proceeded to turn around, almost knocking the maids over again, in a dead sprint to the palace’s attic. He found one of the spare shrines to Angela, and immediately arranged a few flowers in an appropriate fashion. He accidentally brushed by the idol’s breast in his hurried panic, got down on his knees, and folded his hands. “Lady Angela, Goddess of Fertility, Keeper of the Cornucopia, hear my prayer. Sorry about the chest, but Keira’s water broke!” The goddess appeared next to him almost immediately, looking at Torn with a disapproving glare. “Mishandle my shrines again, boy, and I’ll turn you into an onion. Now, where’s Keira?” Torn nodded frantically at the threat. “I won’t, lady Angela. She’s in our room.”

The two walked with a brisk pace back to the bedroom, and Angela immediately began examining her patient. Torn, the talker and charmer, despite the touch of the muse, was speechless - normally, when stressed, he would have burst into song or poetry of some kind, but in this situation, where the reality of parenthood set in, Torn’s words failed him, and he was reduced to swaying on the spot, vocalizing an ominous tune worthy of an apocalyptic lecture in a cathedral. And so he stood, providing eerie background music to Angela’s inspection. Angela explained that waiting too long after the water had broken might misalign the babes, and somehow, Torn ended up making the call about using Angela’s divine magic to accelerate the process. Almost catatonic, Torn answered while retaining the ominous tune. “Get it oooover wiiiiiith…”

Keira glared at Torn with his music as the examination went, but she held her tongue. It wasn’t Torn’s fault that this was all he had at the moment. The woman took deep breaths as Angela began to work her magic. Thank god that Torn had decided sooner than later or she would have killed him. 

Just before the labor started to be intense Toya made her way into the room and took her place by her daughter. “Make sure my daughter and grandchildren are healthy or I’ll paint your temple all shades of colors.” It was a light jab but Ang made a smile back at Toya. 

“There will be no harm here.” Angela moved both Torn and Toya up towards Keira’s head. “You two support from up here. Hold her hand if you want to. She might break it, though. We’re extremely strong individuals. If I remember correctly Toya broke a finger or two on Blaine when Jayden was born.” Toya did a smirk and patted Keira’s golden hair.

The labor lasted a day even with Angela’s help. The twins ended up being five minutes apart but the fun parts were before the twins even arrived. Toya had forgotten to remove all objects away from Keira’s reach. She began to grab vases and instruments throwing them at Torn. “YOU DID THIS.” It was a common reaction.

“Toya control your daughter. She is going to be upset with herself when the labor is over.” Angela looked up from the bottom of Keira. “Try to comfort her Torn and please tell her to keep breathing and push…” Angela seemed used to it all but Toya could have sworn she heard Blaine snickering somewhere in the house.

After the day of labor, the two blonde haired babes were out and in a bassinet by the bed. Angela was cleaning them up and Keira had her eyes closed. Not many people would be awake after something like that.

The babes had sun-kissed skin, fair blonde hair, and when they had peeked up at Angela she saw their blue eyes. They looked like Blaine’s and she chuckled softly. They had to be some of the most beautiful babies she had ever seen.  “Torn, they can be picked up now that they are cleaned and completely healthy. As for Keira, she is to stay in bed for a while until she heals. I’m aware the last bits of the birth were hard on her. I’ve done healing magic on her so she should be healed a lot quicker than most other births.”

Angela stepped out of the way for him so he could see Kite and Tempest. 

Torn finally snapped out of vocalizing as the proverbial shit began to hit the fan in earnest. He moved over to Keira’s side, and let her hold his hand. When labour began, the regret was instantaneous and total, but he held on for dear life - luckily, his recent training kept his hand from breaking in Keira’s tremendous grip. He held on for quite a while, until his fingers went blue - at which point Keira began flinging whatever she could reach at Torn. Whether by luck or reflex, he managed to avoid all the heaviest and hardest objects, but that he’d wake up with a bruise or two was without question. “We did this, babe! Just… hold on!”

When Angela instructed Torn on how best to handle the situation, Torn was panicked at first. Never, in all his life, had he ever been a part of something so distinctly intense - and feminine - as a childbirth. But then, something tugged at him. There is an angel of music in you, Torn. Let it sing. He proceeded to sing a song - a lullaby - from the north. It was deep, it was rhythmic. He set the pace to time it with Keira’s pushes, notes fying, glowing, wrought on snowflakes. His voice went to a deep bass he didn’t even know he was capable of, and soon, Keira had calmed down, her mind focused and soothed a little by the music. And so he sat by her side, all day, singing, until the babes were born and Keira had passed out from the strain.

Torn, who had gone all day with no food and little drink, was about ready to keel over himself, but when Angela said the children could be picked up, he felt something stir inside him. He began to shake a little, and his stomach filled with butterflies. He got up from his chair, and went over to the bassinet. And as he took his first look at his children, he was immediately, completely, and irreversibly in love. He began to tear up, holding his hands before his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words. He stood there for a full minute, trying to compose himself, before he called out to Toya. “Come see your grandchildren,” he said, his voice shaking. “They’re absolutely wonderful.” He leaned down, and for a moment, he just froze. I want to pick them both up so badly, he thought to himself. Luckily, he didn’t have to choose - Toya came over, and picked up her grandson Kite. Torn proceeded to pick up Tempest. My daughter, he just thought to himself, over and over, unable to do anything but adore the child. And so it was that for the first time since before he was a teenager, Torn burst into tears.

With Torn's help, Keira was able to calm down. It only took his voice and she got some kind of logical thought through for her to calm down for the rest of the birthing. It made Angela's heart warm to see them working together and Angela could tell that Toya was proud of them both.

Toya came over and picked up little Kite in her arms. “They are beautiful aren’t they?” She chuckled a bit and held the boy close. “They look like the perfect mix of the both of you.” Toya went over to Keira and sat down with her. “Hey Sleepy, check out your boy before you pass out.”

Keira was fighting off some sleep as Angela moved some tea and food into the room. “I’m not tired Ma I just hurt.” She chuckled a bit and looked over at Kite. “He’s beautiful.” Toya waved Torn over so Keira could see Tempest as well. 

“You both did splendidly. I’m glad that I’m not mending your fingers, Torn. Blaine can tell you some stories about I’m sure,” Angela chuckled and made sure that Keira was alright. “I’m going to get a favor from Toya sometime, so the birth is on her. As long as Keira rests and gets some sunlight she will be fine.”

Toya bounced Kite for a moment or two before helping Keira hold him. “I’m going to give you two some time to the twins. This is your moment, not mine. I’m going to tell Blaine and Aurora that the twins are born. Though by the screaming stopping I’m sure they’ve noticed.” Toya chuckled a bit and left the four alone.

Keira gave Torn a weak looking smile. “Thank you for singing to me to calm me down. I know I said a lot of hurtful things and I’m sorry. I’m just glad I didn’t hurt you with any vases or any other breakables.” She took a peak over at Tempest and smiled a bit. “Maybe we should tie a ribbon on her. They look so identical without looking at their parts.” She chuckled softly.

Torn went over to Keira, his daughter in his hands. He moved rather slowly, for through the tears he could barely see where he was going, but he eventually found his seat next to Keira, so she could see her daughter as well. Torn wasn’t even able to register the happenings in the room until the four of them had been left alone - somehow, Keira’s voice broke the spell he was under.

“I’m tougher than I look - it’ll take more than a screaming, hostile rosenite to keep me from being there when my children are born,” he said, chuckling through his tears. When Keira mentioned the ribbon, Torn could only nod. “Yes… Good idea,” he said, grinning like a fool, with salt water all over his face. Luckily, the bed was large, so he eventually got to his senses and crawled on top of the blankets next to Keira, snuggling up tightly enough for both parents to be able to embrace - if not directly hold - both of the children, and one another. Torn remained silent for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts and feelings.

Once the tears stopped coming, Torn took a deep breath, and spoke his mind. “You know, Keira… Seeing these two has made me realize something.” He took another brief pause, so as to speak as eloquent as he could. “I want this. All of it. I want to be the adventurer, sure, but I also want to be the father. I am no longer content being a free-spirited rogue, wandering the world in search of glory. Settling down is a challenge in itself, and I welcome it.” Another brief pause. “I want the family life, too. And I don’t think I can have that without you, who brought these two into the world.” He stopped looking at his children and lifted his gaze to meet Keira’s. “Do you think we can pull that off? Be a family?” Torn swallowed hard, apparently quite nervous. “Do you want me for a husband?”

Keira watched his face and chuckled. She snuggled into him and leaned her head into his neck. Closing her eyes after viewing each twin she let out a yawn. She was tired and that much could be seen from the bags forming underneath each eye. She had let out a lot of energy bringing the two little wolves into the world. She gently rocked Kite and listened to Torn’s words. Her motions began to pause as she retracted her head from his neck.

Her green eyes, tired, met his lovely blue ones and she chuckled softly. “You choose now to propose? Of all the times before this moment?” She teased again before kissing his cheek. “You know I would want nothing more than that as long as it is something you want.” She sunk down into the bed and stared back up at him. “All I want is to be a family and one day when the twins are old enough to go traveling again. All of us. You, me, twins, and the Misfits.” 

Sure it would be dangerous at times but it would make them happy. The twins would get experience in the world and perhaps feel their paws on the ground all over Revaliir. It would be amazing but for now, she saw herself saying in one particular spot until they were old enough. “If you can handle being my husband I would love to be your wife.”

Torn smiled, and leaned over to give Keira a kiss, chuckling softly. “Don’t know how well I’ll be able to handle it, but you’re worth giving it a shot,” he said, before slumping back into bed. Keira might claim she wasn’t tired, but Torn knew better - he himself was exhausted, and he wasn’t the one who had to force two living humans out of himself. Luckily, the same seemed to go for the babies, and they both seemed to have passed out. Torn picked up Tempest and put her down, before walking back to Keira to pick up Kite. As brother and sister slept next to one another, Torn slumped back into the bed next to Keira, sighing.

“… Looks like I have to go ring-shopping tomorrow. Good news is, if Blaine wanted to rip my guts out he’d probably have done so already,” Torn mused. She shuffled closer and slid his arm beneath Keira’s head. He was still lying on top on the sheets, but wanted to be close to Keira. “Let’s sleep. We’re going to need the rest, I think.” And so he proceeded to fall asleep, not knowing that both kite and Tempest would wake up two hours later.


About a week and a half after Keira gave birth, Torn had begun to realize how very challenging parenthood was going to be. He was sitting at the table, eating breakfast, having slept only four hours the previous night. Torn was glad for one thing: When the kids woke up, they tended to do so together - but that also meant that most of the time, both Torn and Keira had to get up, and that meant that ‘your turn’ was something he could rarely say. He actually tended to sleep more during daytime, as nurses and other servants of the rosenite court helped during daytime hours.

Then, as he was about to finish his breakfast plate, a door was flung open and a large party of heavily armed men stormed into the room. “Torn, my lad!” The large mercenary Thorvald gave Torn a crushing hug, and Torn responded with laughter. The Misfits were back. “Where are th’ wee ones,” Thorvald asked, to which Torn replied with a grin. “Over here.” He walked up to Toya and Keira, who each held one of the twins. The entire Merry Band of Misfits gathered around, and made sounds and exclamations altogether unmanly, each hardened mercenary adoring the babes. Thorvald got fussy over Tempest as she played with his beard, and one of the band’s scouts almost fell over, trying to prevent Kite from getting a hold of his dagger. Torn, in turn, snuck over to Toya while the mercenaries fussed over the kids. “Sorry about them. They used to be bandits - sea raiders - and common courtesy escapes them.” He smirked at her. “Toss one to the floor, however, and they’ll listen to whatever you have to say.” He held his hand out to one of the party’s berserkers, indicating that he’d make an excellent candidate for a show of force and attention grab.

Keira snuggled into him and closed her weary eyes. “At least make it a pretty ring.” She jested him softly as she fell asleep.

The weeks that came were hard for the two of them. Toya had left them to learn on their own about the twins’ schedule. It was hard enough with Keira trying to do her map making to be interrupted and Torn was often out with the knights if he wasn’t at home. They did not have the luxury of making each other get up in the middle of the night to tend to the children. However, they were advised to try and get them to sleep through the night. Which was hard for two people so little like Kite and Tempest.

The Misfit’s arrival made Keira laugh a bit as they adored the two little beings that Torn and she had made. A grin came to her face as the twins made their own play time using the Misfits’ clothes, items, and even facial hair. “They don’t know any better I promise.” The two were mesmerized by all the new faces but were quickly over being passed around. A little bit of fussing and Mommy being right there with them was all they needed to calm back down. “Swear they are just like Torn when he fusses about things.” She teased.

Toya was amused by the sight more than anything. “Oh, I’m not bothered at all. They seem to like my sort of people. Though I am more amused that Keira fits in with them. She is so much more proper than I am.” She whispered it to Torn jokingly. “I think they are in love with the twins.”

Keira introduced them, “Torn and I named them Tempest and Kite. Better names for singing about isn’t that right Love?” Her eyes moved over to Torn. “And in a pinch, Torn also asked me to be his wife. I accepted on the condition he puts up with me. You all are invited to our little party when we get hitched.” Keira grinned and looked down at the twins who were stilling grabbing at the Misfits. “I am sorry to say we won’t be joining you and Torn until they are older. They are much too young to travel the roads and be supervised. If they were just one than I could do it but together they are certain to bring trouble.”

Torn chuckled at Toya as she mentioned the mercenaries being in love with the twins. “Oh, you think?” He struck a pose, grinning like an idiot. “They were born with my charm, Toya.” He nudged her teasingly, before going over to Keira as she introduced the twins to the Misfits. “Yup, that’s right. Names for song. Or what do you say, lads?” The men gave a cheer of approval, upsetting the twins with the noise. In a flash, Torn went full sleep-deprived first-time father on them, his gaze turning to steel. “Will you guys simmer the fuck down? You’re scaring them!” The Misfits, having never seen Torn pissed before, had a deep silence falling over them, instantly. Torn just kept looking at them in turn until one of the younger Misfits spoke up. “Sorry, man. You’re always… Energetic. I guess we forgot ourselves for a bit.” Torn looked at them some more, and sighed. “I suppose. And hey, I’m getting married, so I can’t stay mad. But fucking hell, guys, try to be a bit more cautious, yeah?” There was a murmur from the crowd as Torn scolded them.

However, if Torn had a skill it was keeping good relations with people. With his innate charm and good looks, he could win just about anyone over - which was indeed the reason the Misfits didn’t kill him when they first met him. He cast a glance at Toya, then turned back to the misfits. “That said, I’m guessing you guys could use breakfast. Or lunch, or whatever. You’ve been on the road for some time, yeah?” The mercenaries’ faces lit up, and they all nodded in agreement. By now, Torn had learned to wield a modest amount of influence on the household servants (not too much, as he didn’t want to drain authority from Keira, and certainly didn’t want to challenge Toya or Blaine), and so, after making sure Toya had no complaints, arranged to have some more food set out. Many of the mercenaries elected to take alternate seats, away from the main table - fragmenting into more easily manageable cliques, categorized by appetite and taste for the servants’ convenience. Torn went over to Toya and gave her a nudge. “That liquor you have, that burns so hot… Let’s try giving some to the younger Misfits. Have some fun.”